Ten days ago we sent a fax to David Lickhalter of Life's Great Products in California to ask if it would be possible to purchase his Poop Off Wipes in bulk to be sent to Donna Powell in Baton Rouge. Donna has over 200 rescued birds from the hurricanes she is caring for at her home and she had asked the volunteers and supporters if Poop Off Wipes could be sent. Well, within 5 minutes of sending the fax we were quite surprised to get a phone call from David. He told us that he had donated 8 gallons of Poop Off in September. After explaining that Donna felt the Poop Off Wipes worked much better because of the close proximity of the cages and the trauma the birds had been through, David donated 4 cases of Poop Off Wipes and shipped them directly to Donna in Baton Rouge! Each package contains approximately 70 wipes and there are 36 packages per case X 4 cases = 10,080 wipes!! We are overwhelmed with David's generosity and want to publicly thank him so much for his kindness. Donna and the birds are very thankful!

Update - Oct 21, 2005

The hurricanes last month created a catastrophic situation that no one was prepared for. It brought out the best and the worst. The purpose of this message is to tell our visitors that there were some very wonderful people who took time out of their lives to help rescue the avian victims of the hurricanes and it is very unfortunate that there are also some people out there that are creating erroneous and slanderous information regarding the rescue efforts. If you have read any negative information about the rescue efforts at Donna Powell's home in Baton Rouge, it is totally unfounded and wrong. Donna opened her home to these homeless birds and had volunteers from various rescue organizations staying at her home while spending their time during the day to find birds in need of rescue. We know the truth because we were in contact with John Dennett who was one of the volunteers. He called periodically to report the situation and there is a link below that will take you to our page containing those reports and additional information about the rescue efforts. In addition there were many others who gave of their time to help the birds. We are posting the following email message from Mattie Sue Athan, who is an AABC Certified Companion Parrot Behavior Consultant who was one of the rescue volunteers:

I was there the night a group of persons who misrepresented their mission and identity (never showed proper identification -- although this is part of FEMA and HSUS protocol) came to 911parrotalert (9/15/05) trying to "claim a cockatoo" that met no description of any cockatoo species existing or extinct, and I was there that first day Donna went to pick up the birds (9/12/05) at Lamar-Dixon and was treated unkindly, although I had already gone home by the time the birds remaining at Lamar-Dixon Gonzales were removed with authority to 911parrotalert (9/23/05), and I can witness, in person, that the things said in this piece of tripe (Mattie Sue is referring to a slanderous email that has been circulating) are absolutely inaccurate. Also, I can refer to these other individuals, as well as Dr. Tully, head of Veterinary Medicine at Louisiana State University and incoming president of the Association of Avian Veterinarians for 2006 as to the good character and ongoing honesty of Donna Powell:

Jinx Scogin and Steven Thomas of Gainesville, Georgia are helping by accepting donated items at their home at 625 Bradford St N. They have a large front porch where items can be left if they are not at home. They have also set up a bank account under the name "For the Birds" to accept monetary donations. The cash will be used to order needed items in bulk from a pet-supply wholesaler, who will ship the items directly to Baton Rouge. Says Jinx "This is going to be on ongoing need. The goal is to keep these birds healthy until they can be reunited with their owners. In most cases the owner of the bird is known but the owners will not be able to come and claim the birds for a long time, because they have no home to come back to."

Donna Powell has found original owners for many of the birds sheltered and cared for at her home. Some have already gone home but she still has over 200 birds waiting for their owners to come and claim them. She is doing a great job and needs all the support we can give her. She still needs volunteers and monetary donations. Also welcome would be Lowe's or Home Depot gift certificates as they are building additional housing for the birds.

Another heart warming bulletin - Marion Santos of Australia whose entry of JJ was one of the winners of the 2006 Parrots At Play Calendar photo contest has donated $240 to help the birds who survived Katrina. Thank you so much Marion!

As of Oct 23rd the funds raised through calendar sales is $660. This money is going directly to help the rescue efforts in Baton Rouge and in other areas needing support. If you are reading this and want to help, please - buy a beautiful Parrots At Play Calendar and make a $10 donation. Every little bit helps.

S pport the Feathered Victims of Katrina!

What's missing?

U

You can make a difference!

Update - Sept 25, 2005

Hurricane Rita broke levees. The 9th ward still has dead people. Green flys are everywhere. The mud burns your skin like battery acid. Birds are loose and flying around; cockatoos, macaws and quakers. Food has been put out for the birds. Port Arthur is trashed. There is mold everywhere.

Five more birds were rescued yesterday. Today the rescuers are heading to St. Bernard, a suburb of New Orleans. Mattie Sue is leaving today. Tracey from Pampered Parrots Avian Rescue in Spokane, WA has arrived to help. The devastation is just awful. It is heartbreaking to see the dead cats and dogs and birds who have drowned in their cages. There is a muck and toxic sludge that makes your eyes burn. The rescuers heard gunfire yesterday and there are police and military checkpoints.

It's costing $30 to $40 a day just in gas to go out for rescue operations.

Please help! Your donations are needed! At the very least, please purchase a beautiful Parrots At Play Calendar that you will enjoy all year and make a $10 donation to support these people that are working so very hard in very terrible conditions to rescue the birds.

Update - Sunday, Sept 18, 2005

Anyone who has a bird needing rescue, call Teresa at 817-613-1856 in Texas and she will get the information to the rescuers in Baton Rouge. Phone service in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge area is sporadic.

A number of stories and rumors have been flying around the internet regarding an incident on Friday, Sep 16 at 911 parrot rescue where rescue operations for the avian victims has been ongoing for the past 2 weeks . This is what actually happened:

The rescue efforts were disrupted by an extreme animal rights group, ALF - Animal Liberation Front - whose members were IMPERSONATING people from LSU (Louisiana State University) and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). LSU never heard of these people and has issued a letter documenting that. They were also spreading rumors of all the shelters in Alabama being full and parrots being euthanized, that the governor had signed a rule that, due to health reasons, no animals could leave the state, out of state volunteers would be arrested, etc.

The above information has been supplied by John Dennett of Beaks and Wings Parrot Rescue inTexas, and Dave Spurlin of Parrots-R-4Ever Parrot Rescue in Alabama. Both of these gentlemen are voluntering their time to help the rescue operations at Donna Powell's home in Baton Rouge. John has asked us to pass on the following message:

"Quit with the gossip. Do not pass this crap on, it's interfering with the work that's being done. This place is hell and the rumors are making it worse. Everyone is working their butts off trying to get what needs to be done done. If you're not going to help, then stand back and shut up. It's bad enough as it is." He also says to send thanks to those that HAVE helped by sending supplies, cash, food, etc. They are wiped out down there... little sleep and non-stop work. The conditions are awful, and the circumstances draining.

Update - Thurs, Sept 15, 2005

Just prior to John's 9 hour drive to Baton Rouge the medical bag he had on his truck was stolen. John called from Baton Rouge this morning with the following news:

"It's a mess down here. We need volunteers to help take care of the birds. There's electricity and the phone is supposed to be working but service is sporadic. There are now close to 200 rescued birds at Donna Powell's home. Housing is being built. It's hot! and you can cut the humidity with a knife!"

A conversation with Nell Knapp of Knapptime Adoption, Rescue and Education who is there helping in the rescue of these birds revealed the following:

"This is overwhelming for Donna! Two days ago we found 32 dead birds and rescued 3. We need money - - it costs $44 to fill up the car with gas to go to the New Orleans area to rescue birds. Thank God for the people at Petco! They have made a huge effort to help, allowing us to go into their store, fill up the shopping cart with food and supplies, and they charge us ZERO! Paul Jolly of the Petco Foundation, Paul Crasco, and TJ, the store manager have been absolutely wonderful!"

Okay folks, here's the scoop:

They need volunteers to help

They need food and supplies - see the list below

They need money!!! You can make a money donation thru their website www.911parrotalert.com or at the very least, please, buy a calendar and donate $10 of your purchase to help this effort to help the feathered victims of Katrina!

On Thursday, Sep 8th, a plane arrived at Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts with approx 100 evacuees from New Orleans. Aboard there were 8 animals also in need of help. Dr. Tom Burns of Cape Cod Veterinary Associates was at Otis Air Force Base to help the animal victims. It is our understanding that 2 of the animals required hospitalization. The other 6 were treated for dehydration and tested for potential disease. A second plane arriving at Otis Air Force base also had animal passengers including one parrot. In total 11 dogs, 4 cats, 1 monitor lizard, 1 python snake, and 1 orange wing amazon parrot were evacuated from New Orleans last week along with their humans to Cape Cod. All of the animals were medically treated, are doing very well, and are now with their humans EXCEPT for the Orange Wing Amazon who is at the Angell Memorial Hospital in Boston. The parrot was sent there because they had an avian specialist. We will try to find out more information.

John Dennett of Beaks and Wings Parrot Rescue in Weatherford, Texas left Sep 13th, for Baton Rouge to help the feathered victims of Katrina. He is driving an S10 Chevy pickup truck with a topper and the truck is stuffed with 500 lbs of bird food, medicines, and various supplies such as syringes for feeding baby birds. He is also bringing a generator. If you would like to make a donation specifically for this rescue effort, just enter the word Katrina when ordering your calendars in the text box entitled "I want my donation to go to:". Your $10 donation per calendar will be sent to John to help defray the cost of bird food, medical supplies, cages, toys, etc. Thanks to you as of Sep 24th, we've raised $320 to help the rescue effort. We will continue to post the fund raising success and keep you informed.

John will be reporting back to us the situation he finds in New Orleans. He will be working with the Louisiana Animal Control Association, the U.S. Humane Society, and the Texas Humane Society and we will post his feedback here on the main page of our website as we receive it. John's wife will be looking after the birds in Texas and if you know of anyone in the Weatherford, TX, area that could donate some time to do such things like power wash cages, they'd be much appreciative. The phone number at Beaks and Wings Parrot Rescue is 817-613-1856.

John has asked us to let people know that there is no gas available in New Orleans and surrounding areas. Anyone going to New Orleans needs to take enough gas to get them out. John will be bringing with him not only 20 gallons of gas, but medical supplies and food for the birds.

John is headed for Baton Rouge to meet with Donna Powell of 911 Parrots who has taken in 100 parrots so far and reports are that there could be as many as 500 birds at Donna's home at 16365 Woodmere by this weekend.

Nell Knapp of Knapptime Rescue (KARE) in Michigan and friends are in Louisiana providing help. Nell could use some help with the birds back in Michigan. If there is anyone in the Warren, Michigan area that could volunteer some time to help please call 586-498-5871. Their website is www.knapp-time.com. We encourage you to visit and read the news they have posted.

Another kind person who is pitching in to help the rescued birds in Baton Rouge is avian behaviourist, Mattie Sue Athan who told John to "Get your butt down here!"

We have a contact in Church Point, Louisiana, who has offered her help to John. That contact is the lady who was owned by Dixie Bell, Ms May 2005.

Funds are vitally needed to cover expenses for bird food, housing, medicines, etc. If you haven't done so already, please purchase a Parrots At Play Calendar and make a donation to help the rescue efforts!! The birds need you!!

Resc e the Feathered Victims of Katrina!

What's missing?

U

You can make a difference!

The following is a list of supplies needed by 911Parrot who has taken in approximately 200 homeless parrots :

If you have supplies you can send, please contact Ellen of Beaks and Noses Rescue in Billerica, MA. Her email is beaksandnoses@hotmail.com and her phone number is 978-362-2072. If you would like to send a monetary donation for the rescue efforts by Donna Powell of 911Parrot please visit www.911parrotalert.com

There are quite a few folks in the New England area that have cages and other items to donate. They are looking for someone with a large truck, perhaps an 18 wheeler to pick up these items in the N.E. area and deliver them to Baton Rouge. If you know of someone that could do this, please have them contact Ellen. Ellen has told us that Continential Airlines has offered to ship cargo in their cargo section for free!! So, perhaps, if we could get someone to drive a truck and pickup the donations in N.E. for delivery to Logan Airport??

This website was created by Steve McAnulla. For more information send email